U.S. and Russia Reach Deal over Syria Weapons

In a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a deal has been reached that would eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile and table the threat of a U.S. military strike for now.

The steps of that deal, which Kerry announced with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, call for Syria providing a full accounting of its chemical weapons arsenal within a week and the full destruction of that arsenal within a year. U.N. inspectors would be allowed in the country by no later than November.

Kerry warned that if Syria does not comply with the terms of the deal, a U.N. Security Council resolution could be drawn up that includes the threat of force.